Emerald City Music Celebrates 10 Years with Expanded 2025-26 Concert Season
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Emerald City Music Announces Milestone Season: ECM at 10
Twelve Concerts from October 2025 through May 2026
in Seattle and Olympia, WA
Inaugural Ensemble-in-Residence: GRAMMY®-Nominated Sandbox Percussion
Plus Brand New Late Night Sessions Concert Series
And New Season Partnerships with
The Metropolis Ensemble, Meany Center for the Performing Arts,
and the University of Washington School of Music
Violinist Kristin Lee, Artistic Director; Sean Campbell, Executive Director
Season Subscriptions on Sale Today June 3, 2025
Single Tickets on Sale August 5, 2025
Seattle & Olympia, WA – Continuing under the leadership of Artistic Director and violinist Kristin Lee and Executive Director Sean Campbell, Emerald City Music (ECM) celebrates its milestone tenth anniversary, ECM at 10, taking bold steps into the future with new programs, new partnerships and – for the first time ever – an Ensemble-in-Residence with GRAMMY®-nominated Sandbox Percussion. Emerald City Music is the Pacific Northwest home for eclectic, intimate, and vibrant classical chamber music experiences. Known for a casual environment combined with award-winning artists, ECM has gained recognition since its founding in 2015. The programming of ECM at 10 will reach every corner of chamber music from the last 250 years, from Beethoven and a recently discovered work by Charles Loeffler, to minimalist work of the ‘70s and new works by renowned composers Joan Tower and Vivian Fung (both co-commissioned by ECM). Season subscriptions go on sale today, June 3, 2025 and single tickets will be available on August 5, 2025.
Mainstage performances throughout the season will be held at ECM’s signature venues – in Seattle at 415 Westlake and in Olympia at The Minnaert Center for the Arts and Capital High School Performing Arts Center. This season, ECM is also proud to have new partnerships with The Metropolis Ensemble, Meany Center for the Performing Arts, and The University of Washington School of Music.
In addition to ECM’s twelve mainstage performances between October 2025 and May 2026, ECM is launching a brand new series of Late Night Sessions, featuring three more performances. This series embraces an intimate concert experience and will directly follow the conclusion of selected mainstage performances, keeping the music going well into the night. ECM’s new Late Night Sessions will spotlight outstanding local musicians and offer audiences an eclectic mix of genres. Dates for the Late Night Sessions will be announced this fall.
“Season 10 is more than just a season,” says Artistic Director Kristin Lee. “It's a reflection of our past, a celebration of our mission, and an exciting step into the future with the extraordinary community that has grown with us every step of the way. We’ve cultivated a passionate and dedicated group of music lovers, artists, and supporters who have made Emerald City Music sustain thus far, and all of us at ECM cannot wait to experience with you what the next decade has in store!”
The concept of the concert series as a platform where artists and audiences transform one another breathes life into every element of what ECM does – from the casual open-bar setting of its flagship Seattle concert experiences, to the enthusiastic communities that faithfully assemble in its concert halls in Olympia and beyond. At Emerald City Music concerts, the audience’s presence matters, transforming the artists, the community, and the future of classical music.
The Seattle Times reports: "ECM isn’t falling back on the tried-and-true, under the assumption that a new listener is an unadventurous, easily frightened-off listener. Instead, they’re betting that the tried-and-true could be precisely one of the barriers to sparking interest that classical-music organizations need to overcome."
“Our mission has always been to create a musical home for the eclectic, open-minded, and curious – a place where classical music comes to life through world-class performances that feel personal, accessible, and engaging,” says Executive Director Sean Campbell. “As we step into our tenth season, that mission continues to guide everything we do!”
“Every performance we’ve had the pleasure of giving with Emerald City Music since our first ever performance in 2017, is one we truly cherish,” says ECM Ensemble-in-Residence Sandbox Percussion founding member Victor Caccese. “We love playing concerts because we love connecting with audiences and sharing percussion music with them. This is at the core of Emerald City Music – presenting great music, played at a high level, in an inviting and comfortable setting. Being part of this kind of environment has deeply inspired us and continues to shape how we think about performing and presenting percussion in fresh, innovative ways.”
Emerald City Music’s Season 10 Mainstage Performances
Musical Milestones: The Loeffler Project
Friday, October 17, 2025 at 8pm: 415 On Westlake | Seattle, WA
Saturday, October 18, 2025 at 7:30pm: Minnaert Center | 2011 Mottman Rd SW | Olympia, WA
Kristin Lee, Andy Liang, violin | Katie Liu, viola | Nathan Chan, cello | Jennifer Godfrey, double bass | Graeme Steele Johnson, Angelique Poteat, clarinet | Bridget Kibbey, harp
Emerald City Music celebrates its milestone tenth anniversary with a festive season opener, featuring the enchanting sounds of harp and clarinet performing imaginative and expressive works by Saint-Saëns, Coleridge Taylor, Debussy, and Loeffler, connecting the 19th and 20th centuries. The cornerstone of the program is the Seattle premiere of Charles Loeffler’s recently discovered Octet, brought to life and reconstructed after 128 years by acclaimed clarinetist Graeme Steele Johnson. Charles Loeffler (1861-1935) was a violinist and composer who, despite his German birth and parentage, had a career which largely thrived in the U.S., where he moved in 1881 and became a citizen in 1887. In 1883, he became the second concertmaster of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, where he held the position for over two decades.
Saint-Saëns: Fantaisie for Violin and Harp, Op. 124
Coleridge Taylor: Clarinet Quintet, Op. 10
Debussy: Danse sacrée et danse profane
Loeffler: Octet (Seattle premiere)
Quartet in Spotlight: Aeolus Quartet
Friday, December 5, 2025 at 8pm: 415 On Westlake | Seattle, WA
Saturday, December 6, 2025 at 7:30pm: Capital High School, 2707 Conger Ave NW | Olympia, WA
Aeolus Quartet: Isabelle Ai Durrenberger, Rachel Shapiro, violins | Caitlin Lynch, viola | Jia Kim, cello
The “high octane” (The Strad) and award-winning Aeolus Quartet makes its ECM debut with a vibrant program featuring the music of Beethoven, Bacewicz, and Dvořák. Dedicated to sharing the joy of chamber music with new audiences, the ensemble’s highly anticipated performance will be a memorable evening of luscious string quartet music.
Beethoven: String Quartet No. 1 in F major, Op. 18, No. 1
Bacewicz: String Quartet No. 3
Dvořák: String Quartet No. 13 in G major, Op. 106
An Evening with Mikaela Bennett and The Metropolis Ensemble
In partnership with The Metropolis Ensemble
Friday, February 6, 2026 at 8pm: 415 On Westlake | Seattle, WA
Saturday, February 7, 2026 at 7:30pm: Minnaert Center | 2011 Mottman Rd SW | Olympia, WA
Mikaela Bennett, soprano | Adam Rothenberg, piano | Kristin Lee, Sarah Ma, violins | Tanner Menees, viola | Audrey Chen, cello
Garnering praise for her artistic versatility in concert halls across the globe, acclaimed singer Mikaela Bennett joins forces with the Metropolis Ensemble for a vibrant program of American music to kick off 2026. The artists will collaborate to perform music by American composers Molly Joyce and Sarah Kirkland Snider, including the West Coast premiere of Joyce’s new work. In her note on the work, Sarah Kirkland Snider describes her work Penelope as, “a meditation on memory, identity, and what it means to come home.” ECM will be presenting Snider’s work in a new arrangement for soprano and piano quintet.
Molly Joyce: New Work (West Coast Premiere)
Sarah Kirkland Snider: Excerpts from Penelope, Arranged for Soprano and Piano Quintet
FIVE! - Sandbox Percussion and Kristin Lee
Friday, March 6, 2026 at 8pm: 415 On Westlake | Seattle, WA
Saturday, March 7, 2026 at 7:30pm: Minnaert Center | 2011 Mottman Rd SW | Olympia, WA
Kristin Lee, violin | Sandbox Percussion, Ensemble in Residence: Jonny Allen, Victor Caccese, Ian Rosenbaum, Terry Sweeney, percussion
Artistic Director Kristin Lee teams up with three-time GRAMMY®-Nominated Ensemble-in-Residence Sandbox Percussion for a groundbreaking performance featuring three new works – including two world premieres – by acclaimed composers Joan Tower, Gabriella Smith, and Vivian Fung. Tower’s work, To Sing or to Dance, considers two different origins of music: voice and instruments. She says, “When I was asked to write a piece for violin and percussion, that difference became immediately apparent: how to have these two very different instruments in the same space, living fairly comfortably together.” Similarly, Fung’s work, which she describes as a concerto for violin and percussion, explores the coexistence of two types of sound. She explains: “[M]y focus will be finding percussion sounds that complement, contrast, and augment the sounds of the violin.” FIVE, a new work by Gabriella Smith written for Sandbox Percussion, completes this cutting-edge program, which showcases the dynamic blending of violin and percussion quartet – an unforgettable experience that pushes the boundaries of chamber music.
Joan Tower: To Sing or to Dance (Seattle Premiere, ECM co-commission)
Gabriella Smith: FIVE (World Premiere)
Vivian Fung: New Work (World Premiere, ECM co-commission)
Canto Ostinato
In partnership with The Metropolis Ensemble & University of Washington School of Music
Friday, April 10, 2026 at 8pm: 415 On Westlake | Seattle, WA
Saturday, April 11, 2026 at 7:30pm: Minnaert Center | 2011 Mottman Rd SW | Olympia, WA
Andrew Cyr, Music Director | Kristin Lee, violin | Erik Hall, keyboard/synthesizer | Sandbox Percussion, ECM Ensemble in Residence | UW School of Music Faculty- Bonnie Whiting, percussion & John Popham, cello | UW School of Music Students, to be announced.
Sandbox Percussion and UW School of Music students and faculty come to ECM to give a performance of Simeon Ten Holt’s evening-length minimalist work, Canto Ostinato. Originally a keyboard piece by the Dutch composer, Canto Ostinato is made up of overlapping layers and repeated patterns, and has amassed a cult following. Conceived and developed by Andrew Cyr, Erik Hall, and Jonny Allen, this version of Canto Ostinato features a 17-piece ensemble arrangement led and commissioned by Metropolis Ensemble’s Founder and Director Andrew Cyr. As Canto Ostinato is commonly performed with either two or four pianos, this ambitious arrangement highlights the musical freedom of Holt’s most popular work, which can be performed by different instruments and a varying number of performers.
Simeon Ten Holt: Canto Ostinato
East Coast Chamber Orchestra x Vijay Iyer
In partnership with Meany Center for the Performing Arts
Friday, May 15, 2025 at 8pm: 415 On Westlake | Seattle, WA
Saturday May 16, 2025 at 7:30pm: Capital High School, 2707 Conger Ave NW | Olympia, WA
Vijay Iyer, Shai Wosner, piano | East Coast Chamber Orchestra
For the grand finale of this milestone anniversary season, ECM presents two different programs on two nights. Friday night’s performance in Seattle features dynamic works from the early 20th century to the present day, performed by GRAMMY®-nominated pianist and composer Vijay Iyer and members of East Coast Chamber Orchestra (ECCO). Saturday in Olympia, ECCO joins pianist Shai Wosner to perform a program that juxtaposes works from the classical canon with contemporary works inspired by the musicality of the Baroque era, in addition to Vijay Iyer’s piano concerto, Handmade Universe, closing out ECM at 10 with a piece that explores the balance between group collaboration and independent expression.
May 15 Program
Bohuslav Martinů: Three Madrigals for Violin and Viola
Vijay Iyer: The Diamond for Violin and Piano
Paul Wiancko: Tiny Doors to Big Worlds for String Quintet
Max Bruch: String Octet
May 16 Program
Edward Elgar: Serenade for Strings in E minor, Op. 20
David Serkin Ludwig: Virtuosity
Vijay Iyer: Handmade Universe
J.S. Bach / Michi Wiancko: Chaconne
For Emerald City Music’s Complete Schedule and Concert Details, visit www.emeraldcitymusic.org/calendar.
Emerald City Music’s 2025-2026 concerts take place on Fridays at 8pm at 415 Westlake in Seattle, WA and on Saturdays at 7:30pm at The Minnaert Center for the Arts in Olympia (2011 Mottman Rd), or Capital High School Performing Arts Center (2707 Conger Ave NW). Season tickets and tickets to individual concerts will be on sale on June 3 and August 5 respectively. Please visit www.emeraldcitymusic.org for more details.
About Kristin Lee, ECM Artistic Director
Kristin Lee is a violinist of remarkable versatility and impeccable technique who enjoys a vibrant career as a soloist, chamber musician, educator, and artistic director. “Her technique is flawless, and she has a sense of melodic shaping that reflects an artistic maturity,” writes the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and The Strad reports, “She seems entirely comfortable with stylistic diversity, which is one criterion that separates the run-of-the-mill instrumentalists from true artists.”
As a soloist, Lee has appeared with leading orchestras including The Philadelphia Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, New Jersey Symphony, Hawai’i Symphony, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Ural Philharmonic of Russia, Korean Broadcasting Symphony, Guiyang Symphony Orchestra of China, and Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional of Dominican Republic. She has performed on the world’s finest concert stages, including Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, the Kennedy Center, Kimmel Center, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Ravinia Festival, the Louvre Museum, the Phillips Collection, and Korea’s Kumho Art Gallery.
An accomplished chamber musician, Kristin Lee became a member of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center after winning The Bowers Program audition and completing the program's three-year residency. In addition to her prolific performance career, Lee is a devoted educator. She is on the faculty of the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music as an Assistant Professor of Violin. Lee is also the founding artistic director of Emerald City Music (ECM), a chamber music series that presents authentically unique concert experiences and bridges the divide between the highest caliber classical music and the many diverse communities of the Puget Sound region of Washington State.
Kristin Lee’s honors include an Avery Fisher Career Grant, top prizes in the Walter W. Naumburg Competition and the Astral Artists National Auditions, and awards from the Trondheim Chamber Music Competition, Trio di Trieste Premio International Competition, the SYLFF Fellowship, Dorothy DeLay Scholarship, the Aspen Music Festival’s Violin Competition, the New Jersey Young Artists’ Competition, and the Salon de Virtuosi Scholarship Foundation.
Born in Seoul, Lee moved to the United States and studied under prestigious teachers including Sonja Foster, Catherine Cho, Dorothy DeLay, Donald Weilerstein, and Itzhak Perlman. Lee holds a Master’s degree from The Juilliard School. Lee’s violin was crafted in Naples, Italy in 1759 by Gennaro Gagliano and is generously loaned to her by Paul & Linda Gridley.
For more information, visit www.violinistkristinlee.com.
About ECM
Emerald City Music (ECM) is the Pacific Northwest home for eclectic, intimate, and vibrant classical chamber music experiences. Deemed “a welcoming and more inclusive environment for intimate music-making” (The Seattle Times), ECM hosts world-renowned musicians in unique concert experiences. Founded in 2015, Emerald City Music produces and tours six productions annually, with each tour visiting Seattle’s South Lake Union (415 Westlake, a chic contemporary venue with an open bar), Olympia’s Minnaert Center (a 495 seat modern concert hall), a once annual concert at the Bellingham Music Festival.
ECM has gained recognition regionally and nationally as a major player in the chamber music scene. Artistic Director Kristin Lee –– a touring violinist awarded the Avery Fisher Career Grant and a member of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center –– is regarded for her innovative programming that both honors the tradition of chamber music while expanding the genre’s boundary past common limits. Emerald City Music made a name for itself beginning in its second season with a national collaborative commission with Grammy-winning composer John Luther Adams, and has continued to press the boundary of chamber music with accolades like a tour of Steve Reich’s iconic and rare Music for 18 Musicians, a pitch-black performance of Georg Haas’s “In the Dark” quartet, and the West Coast debut of the Danish folk group The Dreamers’ Circus.
ECM values real, authentic connection and holds the belief that music possesses the innate power to connect people, inclusive of varying backgrounds and perspectives. Over eight years, artists from every corner of the globe have visited Emerald City Music to prove just that: there exists a special connection between artist and listener that only music can facilitate.
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